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SAN ANTONIO — We are a fractured nation, divided by politics, religion and social issues.

The rift seems magnified by social media, the electronic backyard fence animated by blogs in which rants and raves qualify as discourse.

The “United” in United States seems sadly inappropriate now.

Right?

Not so fast.

Yes, we are split by positions on issues that range from gay marriage to medicinal marijuana, and, yes, we sometimes voice those differences with a hostility that would make Miss Manners cringe.

When we step back from these skirmishes, however, we realize that it is our differences that make us who we are, a nation in which we are free to express those differences without fear of government reprisal.

Other countries are not so lucky, and we should remember that on this day, above others — the Fourth of July ... Independence Day.

We cherish this day because it gave us our freedom, including our freedom of speech, thus establishing us as a nation fiercely devoted to democracy.

This proud tradition began 238 years ago, when we adopted the Declaration of Independence that broke our shackles to Great Britain.

“America did not invent human rights,” then President Jimmy Carter said. “In a very real sense, it is the other way around. Human rights invented America.”

It is those human rights that have made us the great, sprawling, diverse and, yes, contentious nation that we are. And, yet, we are never too contentious to set aside our differences when we have to. Make no mistake: The United States is still united.

Witness the horrific bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds of others during the Boston Marathon in the spring of 2013. Americans — Americans of every race, religion and ideology — responded. One man, who lost his right leg in the attack, received a check for $1.2 million, according to the Washington Post.

Witness the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. An off-duty firefighter, braving the raging waters that threatened to drown him, rescued nine people, including an autistic man, two dogs and a parrot, according to NBC News. His neighbors called him a “hero.” He shrugged.

Witness the amount of charitable giving for which we are responsible. Almost 90 percent of U.S. households give to charity, according to a recent report by the National Philanthropic Trust. Americans gave $298.3 billion in 2011, an increase of 3.9 percent over 2010. Corporations were responsible for $14.55 billion of that total.

And it is not just during catastrophic events that we witness how much we care for each other. We see it every day. We see it when a youngster helps an elderly person across the street; we see it when a traveler stops to aid a stranded motorist on the highway; we see it when a resident gives a tourist directions to a downtown landmark. We see it in countless, random ways, seemingly insignificant and yet hugely important.

And we will see it today, the Fourth of July. We will see it everywhere — parks, lakes, backyards — amid the parades, the barbecues and the parents tossing Frisbees with their kids. Most of all, we will see it in our hearts, for we are all Americans, united by a profound love of country — a country that remains the greatest beacon of freedom that this Earth has ever seen — that cuts through the cacophony of our passionate discourse.